For the Greater Good
We all know regrets, although perhaps nobody knows them better than Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. This is his story of love, loss and betrayal. This is the story of his life. 'Prologue' Coming soon!! 'Chapter One - The Day After' The small brick, cottage lay at the end of a long, winding mud track. Although it was still well inside the borders of Godric's Hollow, it could not be seen from the street. nestled in a shallow dip in the ground and surrounded by trees, it was the perfect home for a small family wishing to escape from the prying eyes of the rest of civilization. The village was near enough to be in walking distance so that supplies could be bought from the local shop if needed, but the tiny farm had enough animals and crops to keep the family from going hungry. Although the house wasn't very large, there was still enough space for four people to live comfortably. Having once been a merry little place - neat, pretty and well-tended for - Albus could not get over how much it had changed in the space of a few months. The front garden, once covered in neatly cropped greenery, was now overgrown with yellowing grass, the flower beds nowhere to be seen. The rose that had at one point grown up the wall of the house had died and was now trailing along the ground, its brilliant red petals now a mouldy brown. The cottage itself was something to behold. The door looked as if it was about to fall from its hinges and the paint seemed to be trying to beat it to the ground. All of the windows were covered in a thick layer of grime and dust making it near impossible to see inside. The roof, as well as the fact that it appeared to be missing most of its slates, looked ready to cave in on itself. Albus stared at the sad sight in front of me for a few minutes longer before making his way up what used to be the garden path. The three knocks that followed seemed eerily loud, echoing around the hollow that the house sat in. He felt himself holding my breath as he waited for the door to be answered, a growing feeling of dread threatening to overcome him. Not even Fawkes dared to make a sound as he perched in his cage that was sat on top of Albus's suitcase. The two of them stood outside on the chilly October morning for what seemed like an age before footsteps sounded and the door swung open. Aberforth stood stiffly, his clothes crumpled and his greasy hair sticking out at odd angles. Underneath his clear blue eyes were bags so dark, they looked frighteningly like somebody had painted them on with a purple pen. There was a moment of awkward silence as Aberforth stared at Albus up and down, during which was almost scared that he would slam the door in my face. Instead, he took me by surprise by leaping forward and pulling me into a tight embrace. "Albus!" Aberforth's voice shook dangerously. Minutes ticked by as the two of us clung to each other, shivering in the late autumn chill. Having known Aberforth for almost fifteen years, I could tell that he was just as reluctant to let go as I was. Letting go would mean facing the challenges that lay ahead and as much as I wished that I could deny it, I was scared. The moment was soon broken when Fawkes gave a particularly loud squawk, ruffling his scarlet feathers impatiently. Aberforth regained composure, stepping to the side to allow me to enter the house and nodding at me curtly as I moved past. When I reached the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks, a new wave of sadness washing over me. That of smoke and mould had replaced the smell of fresh baking that had once warmed the room. Chairs lay upturned, cupboard doors hung open and the remains of various smashed plates and dishes littered the dirty floor. A stony coldness hung heavy in the air, sending a shudder running down my spine as I placed my suitcase carefully on the dining table. "Albus!" A surge of hope rushed through me as I spun around, only to be replaced with more disappointment. For a moment, I had been certain that it had been my mother, Kendra Dumbledore, standing in the doorway. She had been ready to pull me into a hug and to assure me that everything was okay; that she had simply been to busy with other commitments to take care of the house and that it would be all back to normal soon. Just to see her cheerful smile once more, to feel her warm arms wrapped around me or to inhale her sweet perfume would have been enough for me. Instead, Ariana stood beside me, as slight and fragile as ever. Her golden hair hung in tangles down her back and her blue eyes were distant and glazed over. Her face had slit up in a small smile as she sidled over, slipping her hand into my own. "Hello, Ariana," my voice quivered. I found it hard to take in the fact that it had been my sister - the sweet, lovely girl next to me - who had murdered our mother. Unable to suppress a shiver of fear, I realized that Ariana could quite as easily kill me as well. At any second, she could take me by surprise and go into one of her rages. She was dangerous. "I missed you," Ariana spoke softly. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed her hand gently, "I missed you too." "Ariana!" Aberforth peered around the doorway. "Why don't you go back to your drawings? I need to speak to Albus alone for a bit." The small blonde nodded happily, skipping past Aberforth and upstairs to her bedroom. When the sound of a slamming door drifted down the staircase, my brother turned his searching gaze on me. I couldn't help but shift uncomfortably as, for the second time since I had arrived, he examined me - this time a lot more thoroughly. His steady eyes travelled down past my auburn hair to my pale face, taking in everything from the shirt and tie that I had worn to the funeral yesterday to my scruffy shoes, worn so many times that they were ready to fall apart. I was almost sure that he could see right into my very soul, that he could flick through all of my deepest, darkest secrets just as easily as he could flick through the pages of a book. Finally, Aberforth entered the room, picking up a chair and sitting down. "You said you'd spend the night here," his voice had a definite bite to it, yet it wasn't quite accusing. "Ariana was worried." It was true; before the funeral had begun, I had told Aberforth that I would come home with him and help to look after Ariana. At the last minute however, I had scarpered, too terrified to make the decision that I knew would be inevitable. Instead, I had put it off for one more day, choosing to stay at a nearby inn. "I'm sorry," the words spilled from my mouth before I could stop them. "I'm sorry for everything, Aberforth. I should never have left Mother to care for Ariana by herself. It's all my fault." "No," the firmness in Aberforth's tone took my by surprise. "Even if you had stayed home it wouldn't have made a difference. I'm the only one she'll listen to. I shouldn't have gone back to Hogwarts. It's all my fault." Aberforth and I looked at each other for quite some time. I fidgeted anxiously, wringing my hands under the table. "So what do we do now?" The question was left to hang in the air. When it became clear that Aberforth was not going to answer, I crossed the room to see what was left in the cupboards. As I had expected, they were all empty apart from a few scraps of stale bread and a jar with a few drops of off milk at the bottom. "Let's go to the shops. We can decided what to do next once we have all had something to eat." :Note: Yes, I know the point of view changes from first-person to third-person halfway through. The reason? I simply cannot be bothered to change it! 'Chapter Two - A Decision to be Made' The blinding sunlight sliced its way through the small white-walled room, falling to rest at the head of the single bed. Rubbing his eyes blearily, Albus sat up, struggling to gather his surroundings. After a few minutes, a small smile reached his lips as he realised that he was in his own bedroom. His eyes travelled slowly from the polished mahogany desk that housed Fawkes's cage and his many prized, to the tall bookshelf next to it and finally to his wardrobe, covered in a collage of certificates and Gryffindor hangings. Grabbing his glasses from his bedside table, Albus padded across the carpeted floor, wondering whether Mother was awake yet. It was only once he had opened the door that reality finally caught up with him. For a moment, he had forgotten all about the problems that faced me, but now that he had caught sight of the filthy corridor ahead, memories of the past few days came flooding back. Burdened with the weight of grief and responsibility, he traipsed downstairs to the kitchen. Albus could turn an owl into a silver goblet with a simple flick of his wand and perform the most complex charms with perfect ease but cooking, he soon found, was beyond him. Having spent several years at Hogwarts with all of his meals being served to him, he had not the faintest idea where to start as he stared blankly at the series of items in front of him. It was true; most witches and wizards cheated by using magic in the kitchen. However, they still needed to be able to cook in order to instruct the wand on what to do. After staring at the spread of ingredients laid out on the counter top for a moment longer, he decided to get stuck into it. Cracking a few eggs into a large bowl, he began from there. Fortunately, Albus was discovered before he could cause serious harm to anything - or anybody. Bounding into the room, Ariana peered into the bowl in front of him and wrinkled her nose in distaste. "What is that?" she demanded, looking up at him with wide blue eyes. "Breakfast?" Albus replied hopefully. Ariana gave me a slightly quizzical look. "It looks like a bowl full of raw eggs, cream, bacon and Liquorice Wands to me. I think I'll make my own food thank you very much." "You don't fancy making breakfast for Aberforth and I as well, do you?" Ariana's laughter chimed like bells. Soon she was dancing through the kitchen; slicing, spreading, dicing and frying. She moved with the grace of an angel as she leaped from cupboard to cupboard, extracting the ingredients necessary to move on to the next step in her imaginary recipe. From his seat by the window, Albus watched her carefully. She wasn't so crazy, he decided, not all of the time anyway. Besides her spontaneous uses of magic, she could be perfectly normal. Perhaps if she were not so unpredictable, if she learnt how to keep her powers under control, then maybe she could be as happy as she was now all of the time. It was then that the moment fell to pieces. Just as the thought had entered his mind, Ariana turned around and realised that the cutlery was levitating, forming a line behind her and joining in with her merry dance. She was using magic. The events that followed happened in such a confusing blur that they were hard for Ablus to make sense of. First, Ariana gave a terrified scream, the plate that she had been holding shattering on the kitchen tiles as she ran from the room. "What have you done to her?!" Aberforth's alarmed cry echoed around the kitchen as he rushed through the door, quickly removing his wand from his pocket. Jabbing the tip to my throat, he cornered Albus against the wall, the menacing glint in his eye almost frightening. Before Albus could protest, the doorbell sounded. Time seemed to freeze. It felt like an age before Aberforth slowly began to back away. Shooting Albus a withering glare, he withdrew his wand and made his way up the stairs to calm Ariana, who now, judging by the sounds coming from her bedroom, was throwing things against the wall. Albus was left to answer the door. A rising feeling of trepidation tightening his throat as he walked stiffly to the porch, praying that the caller was not who he thought it to be. Unfortunately, his suspicions were confirmed when a voice called out, "Hello? Albus? Are you home?" After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly opened the door to find Elphias Doge. As short and stout as ever, he stood in the October chill dressed in an over-large purple top that fell to reach his knees, orange sandals and a two-foot tall green velvet top-hat. Elphias came from a family of pure-blooded wizards and obviously had not the faintest idea about what normal Muggles dressed in, but having known him since the age of eleven, Albus has grown well-accustomed to his eccentric and peculiar style of clothing. "Ah Albus!" Elphias grinned. "I hope you don't mind me dropping by!" The smile soon slid from his face when he noticed Albus's grim expression. With a start he realized that he could barely remember what his friend looked like when he was happy. The last time that he had seen Albus had been at Kendra's funeral. He had sat silently between him and Aberforth, his eyes glazed over and faraway as he stared at the coffin ahead. Elphias had later caught a glimpse of him as he was hurrying away from the crowd of mourners, tears rolling down his blotchy cheeks. Overwhelmed with the urge to comfort him, Elphias reached out and placed a hand on Albus's shoulder. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Shall I come back later?" Albus shook his head. "No, no. It's perfectly fine." Ariana chose that exact moment to let out a particularly loud wail, "I am not a witch! I can't do magic! It was all Albus's fault! All Albus!" "A cup of tea would be nice," Elphias said quickly. "Are Ariana and Aberforth still asleep?" He had decided to pretend that he had not heard, so as to spare Albus the embarrassment of explaining. He had known about Ariana's condition for a while now, and was also aware that Albus felt uncomfortable talking about her. "Yes, a cup of tea," came Albus's vague response as he hurriedly closed the door behind Elphias. Water spilt everywhere as Albus carried the pan over to the stove with shaking hands, only to find that they had no tea bags nor any leaves. "Hot water will do fine," Elphias assured him as they sat at the kitchen table. Albus nodded once and once again, began wringing his hands anxiously under the table. He knew that the question was about to be asked, and he still did not have an answer for it. "Would you like to start rescheduling for our trip?" Should he stay home and attempt to mend his broken family? Or should he travel the world with his friend, leaving all of his troubles behind and pursuing his dream career? Albus took a deep breath before replying. 'Chapter Three - ...' Coming soon! 'Epilogue' Coming soon! Category:SmudgyHollz's Fanfictions Category:SmudgyHollz's Fanfictions Category:SmudgyHollz's Fanfictions